Philinda
With all the adventure and excitement that makes up Marvel’s Agents of Shield, one of the other things that draws fans in is the relationships of the characters. Specifically, the ones known by fans as FitzSimmons and the other one known as Philinda. We have discussed the “Cursed Romance of Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons” so let’s give equal time to the couple known as Philinda.
Phil Coulson and Melinda May were both young S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Phil was introduced to the MCU in the first Iron Man. He was recruited by Nick Fury right out of college. Once there, he met another young agent named Melinda May. She was a highly skilled fighter who once she got to know Phil, took pleasure in teasing him. Especially with his seeming discomfort when he needed to work undercover.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Team-Up
This was shown in an episode that had a flashback where Phil and May infiltrated a Russian base. She teased him about having trouble removing her bra undercover during a previous mission. In another episode, Phil was required to dance with Melinda and was pleased that she still remembered the steps. So it was apparent that they have known each other for some time. Probably approximately 20–30 years. It was during one of their missions that Melinda had to resolve an issue in Bahrain. She went in alone and rescued all of their men. But it was not without a cost. The death of a young girl. They called May the Calvary. But as far as she was concerned, it was a failure and the last of her field work. At least until Phil Coulson comes a calling.
The Beginning
But it all started, as far as Marvel’s Agents of Shield is concerned, when Phil was recruiting members for his handpicked team. Among that team was Melinda May. She was working a desk job ever since her mission in Bahrain. At first she refused the assignment but Phil told her all she had to do was to drive the Bus. In this case, the BUS was a state of the art plane that Fury had given Coulson and his team to use.
While she claimed she would not return to the field, she goes back in order to protect him and the team. As time goes on, Coulson is concerned about whether or not he’d changed after his death. It is May that comforts and helps him. Later, when he is taken as a prisoner by Raina and tortured, May works to get him back, entirely determined to do so. In the episode T.R.A.C.K.S., Coulson is unconscious and May rushes forward, concerned, thinking he’s died again. Upon feeling his pulse, she relaxes and even smiles. There is more at play here than just friendship.
A Moment of Distrust
That being said, it was not always sunshine and roses where Phil and May is concerned. During the fall of Shield and the reveal of HYDRA, it is revealed that May was actually working directly under Fury. She was ordered to keep an eye on Coulson to be sure that the alien DNA used to revive him didn’t cause him or anyone else harm. Once this is revealed, he is upset that she was keeping secrets from him. While she tries to defends herself, upon seeing his anger with her, May leaves the base. She contacts her mother and approached Maria Hill to find out more about Coulson’s resurrection. She finds out that it was Coulson himself who ran the T.A.H.I.T.I. project. This was the program that was used to resurrect Him. Upon learning this information, May returns and works once again with him to defeat John Garrett.
A Brush with Death
As the series progresses, Coulson and May have been kept apart from each other, as well as the team, under the leadership of the new Shield Director, Jeffery Mace. Coulson is working as a field agent alongside Mack. Upon returning to the base, he remarks that he’s excited to see May again. May, however, has been on a mission that infects her with a psychological fear response. Under its influence, she reacts violently, trying to attack Coulson and anyone else who came near her.
In an attempt to help her, May is brought to Holden Radcliffe’s home. Simmons and Radcliffe attempt to bring May back, through the process of killing her and restarting her heart. As this is happening, Coulson worries about her and refuses to back down on knowing for certain she’s been given care. With her recovery, Coulson, upon learning of her near death experience, starts to ask May what she saw when she died. He wonders this as he has no memories of his own death or what he might have seen. May eventually admits to him that she saw him when she died.
Another Dimension to the Philinda Relationship
Later, in Season 4, a blast from a strange device puts Coulson, as well as Fitz and Robbie Reyes, between dimensions. They all watch as a ghost-like figure as May must deal with the possibility that Coulson is once again, dead. She puts that aside and attempts to figure out a way to get him and the others back.
It is during this time that the ‘Haig’ is first referenced. This was an alcoholic drink that Coulson and May promised they would have after a particularly hard mission. May works with Radcliffe, using a demonic book known as the Darkhold. They decide to use the book to bring Coulson and the others back. However, since they fear that no mortal should read the book, they allow Aida, the LMD Radcliffe created, to use it. The unfortunate side effect is that it corrupts the mental capacity of Aida, and makes her want to become human. And she doesn’t care who gets in her way.
An Imitation May
Now that he has been brought back, Coulson says that they should have that long promised drink. They share the bottle of Haig, only for it to be discovered that Aida and Radcliffe had kidnapped May and replaced her with a robot version of herself. As time goes on, Coulson and LMD May get closer, with remarks from Daisy and Elena thinking that they should be together or are interested in each other.
The long awaited kiss ( for fans) happens while at the library recovering the Darkhold. But it is then that Coulson realizes that it’s truly an LMD, and he has no idea where the real May is. Realizing how much he cares, he searches for her and confronts the human that Aida was based upon. Phil tells her that how much he wants to find May and he needs her help to find her. She agrees initially as she likes how Coulson describes May. However, when Radcliffe tells her he can save her from her terminal Disease, she goes with Radcliffe, leaving Coulson empty handed. But he does find out that May is still alive.
The Framework and the Space after
After a long adventure that leads the Shield team through a virtual world called the framework, they are able to escape. However, after the tumultuous ordeal, they find themselves having to cope with all they learned about themselves during their mind captivity. May, for her part, was disappointed that Coulson had already shared their promised Haig with the LMD May. But their disagreements will have to wait, this IS Agents of Shield afterall. No sooner than the team took a moment to get something to eat, they once again find themselves in danger. This time, in Space…and in the future.
Bad News
It is during this time that May and the team learns that Coulson was dying. Whatever alien effects that was holding him together was consumed when he made a “deal” with the Ghost Rider. This was during the whole Aida, framework escapade. The team was both saddened and upset that Coulson had kept that from them. But none more than May.
I Thought that Would Shut You Up
She was concerned that Phil was making reckless decisions now that he knew he was dying. May made it clear that he shouldn’t be making life and death decisions by himself. She made this known in the episode called “The Honeymoon”.
No. You don’t get to make that decision alone. That decision is made with the people who love you. And that’s me. I love you! I thought that would shut you up.
While this revelation surprised Phil and thrilled fans, Phil got the chance to turn the tables. This was while they were under attack on Quavos’ ship in the episode “The One that will Save is all.” May has told Coulson to get back to the ship and save himself while she and Daisy took on the bad guys. Phil questioned why she was giving him orders when they found themselves being shot at. Coulson saves himself and May with his “Shield“ and kisses her while they are protected. Daisy looks on in surprise but cleans up the remaining bad guys. Before Coulson concedes to go to the ship, his parting shot to May was “I thought that would shut you up.”
The Final Days
May and Daisy refused to give up on Coulson. Daisy enlisted Jemma and Fitz to create a cure for Phil. He was reluctant to take it after already cheating death once. Daisy gives him an impassioned plea to take the injection and save himself. Instead, realizing that Daisy would need the extra power the cure would provide in her battle with Graviton, Coulson slipped the injector inside Daisy’s gauntlet. Upon finding it during the battle, she uses the cure on herself to defeat Graviton. This of course meant that Coulson would die. But he would not die alone. May decides to retire to Tahiti along with Phil to spend his last days as a couple. The beginning of Season Six confirmed that Coulson died in Tahiti spending his final time with May. As it should have been.
While their relationship ended there, it was not the end of Phil’s influence on May. In Season 6, She must deal with an alien that has taken the likeness of Phil. While she knows that it is not her Phil, she remains conflicted about the possibility. This comes to an end when his true nature is revealed and Mack kills the creature. May, for her part, also suffers a mortal wound but is saved by Jemma and the technology she has gained through Enoch. Now May is in stasis and Jemma and Enoch have created a Chronicom style LMD of Coulson to help fight back the renegade Chronicoms. This involves a travel through time. How will May react to the synthetic Phil Coulson? Will they defeat the Chronicoms and save Shield? We have until May 27th before we find out.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
